The new dynamic duo

Thursday was a day which could have quite possibly changed Rangers’ season. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

Simon Cheshire

By Simon Cheshire

After dismal defeats to Bristol City (3-0), and West Bromwich Albion (7-1), Thursday 23 August was a day which could have quite possibly changed Rangers’ season.

The Rs saw the arrival of not one, but two proven Championship strikers, to help bolster QPR’s attack.

However, more importantly, it has helped boost confidence and morale when it had just hit a major low.

Many Rangers fans were scratching their heads at these huge arrivals, with the Bermudan international Nahki Wells having joined Burnley for £5m the previous summer, and Israeli Tomer Hemed having only signed a new contract extension at Brighton in November.

The loan market is something which QPR have had to capitalise on, due to current financial restraints, but even the most ardent of Rs fans couldn’t have expected such important arrivals.

Saturday’s home match against Wigan Athletic was the first chance for the Rangers faithful to catch a glimpse of the new additions, and with both of them going straight into the starting XI, it wasn’t long before you could see what all the fuss was about.

The pair linked up really well, and created QPR’s first real chance of the afternoon. Eventually it was Hemed who would go on and grab the headlines as his solitary goal: securing all three points for Rangers, in what was a nervy afternoon in W12.

But the importance of the individual performances from the front two can’t be overshadowed, with Hemed’s hold up play and Wells' constant chasing and closing down, helping to ease the pressure on QPR’s backline.

That consequently had as much positive impact on the game as Hemed’s first half goal.

The signing of these two strikers is a defiantly positive step forward, but with Rangers expected to look to the loan market once more for a defensive acquisition, this shows that improvement can still be made.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.